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Since President Obama declared the month of January to be National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, there have been over 370 human trafficking arrests made. Just as this form of modern-day slavery continues to grow, so does the number of individuals associated with trafficking crimes during major sporting events. Many believe that this on-going epidemic gravitates towards these large events as it presents human traffickers an opportunity to expand upon their activities. This was evident recently during the NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans as 14 arrests were made just in the Jefferson and Orleans parishes alone. These arrests were the direct result of a human trafficking sting by local authorities.

In the United States in February 2017, there were 133 individuals arrested, suspected, or charged with human trafficking activities, as well as 29 victims rescued, including 2 children under the age of 18. There were nine new laws passed and 58 community initiatives.

Internationally, there were 53 individuals arrested, suspected, or charged with human trafficking activity, as well as 78 victims rescued. There were two new laws passed and 13 community initiatives.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF will be hosting their Annual Meeting Student Summit on April 1- 4, 2017. The powerful and meaningful summit is for concurring student leaders globally to unite, gain knowledge and allocate ways to make their UNICEF Club influence transpire. The Annual Meeting will be a life-changing experience. To register please visit www.unicefusa.org.

Shut Out Trafficking (SOT), our partnership with the US Fund for UNICEF, will do week-long events in March on the campuses of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and at Marist College after staging two weeks of SOT Programming in February at St. John’s University and Queens College. The highlight was a PSA and on court messaging about human trafficking at Madison Square Garden during a St. John’s game before 10,000 fans.

For further information on human-trafficking like the Shut-Out Trafficking Facebook page and follow End Trafficking on Twitter.